Poor Spelling Abilities Research Articles

Equivalence of Computer- and Paper-Based Administrations of the SCHNAPP Spelling Test in German for Six-Year-Old Children

Abstract: The SCHNAPP Spelling Test is a novel screening instrument to identify at-risk children with poor spelling abilities in German at the beginning of primary school. Although originally developed as a computerized test to be administered on tablets, in school settings paper-pencil methods are often still preferred. Therefore, the present study on N = 390 children from first grades in Austrian primary schools examined the equivalence of computer and paper-pencil versions of the test. After demonstrating unidimensional measurement models in both assessment conditions, analyses of differential response functioning on the item and test level found no substantial testing mode effects. These results indicate that the SCHNAPP Spelling Test can be comparably used as a computer- or paper-based instrument in school assessments.

Dyslexia: neurobiology, clinical features, evaluation and management.

Neurobiology helps us understand the processes that drive neurological processes including dyslexia. This article outlines the neurobiology underpinning typical reading skills and those seen in dyslexia, which is characterized by problems with accurate or fluent word recognition, poor decoding, and poor spelling abilities. There are exciting new developments in the neurobiological changes resulting from educational interventions for dyslexia, though more research is needed in this regard. This article also outlines the clinical features of dyslexia across the developmental span, and provides guidance to clinicians about referral to community resources and advocacy for families to seek educational interventions. Screening and diagnostic tools are described, as are interventions for remediation and accommodations for dyslexia across the educational span.

Spelling Error Detection

Abstract. The ability to spell words correctly is a key competence for educational and professional achievement. Economical procedures are essential to identifying children with spelling problems as early as possible. Given the strong evidence showing that reading and spelling are based on the same orthographic knowledge, error-detection tasks (EDTs) could be considered such an economical procedure. Although EDTs are widely used in English-speaking countries, the few studies in German-speaking countries investigated only pupils in secondary school. The present study investigated N = 1,513 children in elementary school. We predicted spelling competencies (measured by dictation or gap-fill dictation) based on an EDT via linear regression. Error-detection abilities significantly predicted spelling competencies ( R² between .509 and .679), indicating a strong connection. Predictive values in identifying children with poor spelling abilities with an EDT proved to be sufficient. Error detection for the assessment of spelling skills is therefore a valid instrument for transparent languages as well.

The Teaching and Learning of Spelling in the Spanish Heritage Language Classroom: Mastering Written Accent Marks

Spanish spelling, especially the use of written accent marks, is a major stumbling block for Spanish heritage language (SHL) learners (Carreira 2002). In fact, Mikulski (2006) found that most SHL learners ranked bettering their spelling and grammar as a very important learning goal. Despite its importance in literacy development and its perceived value as a signal of an accomplished writer, few empirical studies have addressed spelling and use of accent marks. To address this gap, the present study evaluated a step-by-step instructional approach focusing on stress identification, which was delivered in three computer-based training sessions. The sessions consisted of listening exercises containing exaggerated and contrastive stress. Additionally, students received an introductory lesson and two explicit explanations of written accent rules with practice activities. Pre- and post-test results show the instruction effectively improved students' stress identification skills and ability to add written accent marks when appropriate. In addition, results find that the most complex aspect of learning accent use is identification of the stressed syllable. Poor spelling ability can affect students' attitudes toward writing, their fluency, and their self-confidence as writers. Therefore, it is important that SHL learners master correct accent placement through effective instructional procedures.

Is visual content in textual search interfaces beneficial to dyslexic users?

Dyslexia is a learning disability characterised by problems with accurate or fluent word recognition, poor decoding, and poor spelling abilities. Although several studies have addressed dyslexia and Web accessibility, less is known about how dyslexia affects information search. This study investigated whether the inclusion of icons in search user interfaces enhances performance among dyslexics. A total of 21 dyslexics and 21 controls completed 52 search tasks in 4 conditions: icons only, words only, and both icons and words in a grid layout and a list layout, while eye movements were recorded. Dyslexics took significantly longer than controls to locate targets in tasks containing text, but not in the icon-only condition. Dyslexics had longer fixation durations than controls in both icon and text based search arrays, suggesting higher mental load associated with search tasks generally. The addition of words to icon arrays led to faster search times within controls, but not dyslexics. Dyslexics also exhibited more fixations on dual-modality tasks, and longer scanpaths than controls in list layout. Both groups were fastest searching the list layout, with icons and words listed in columns. Results are discussed in terms of the design of accessible search interfaces for dyslexic users, taking into account mental load of dual-modality information display, and the arrangement of search items. Empirical data is provided for the design of accessible search results interfaces for dyslexics. HighlightsDyslexics are generally slower in visual search arrays containing text.Including icons in arrays seems distracting for both dyslexics and controls.Including icons in lists seems beneficial to performance generally.Content mode and layout interact to effect search performance in dyslexia.

Socioemotional Features and Resilience in Italian University Students with and without Dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a permanent condition characterized by reading difficulties that include inaccurate or slow and effortful word reading, poor decoding, and poor spelling abilities. People with dyslexia may have psychological and psychopathological issues such as low self-esteem, poor resilience, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. They may also develop social problems and emotional issues, as well as low academic and social self-efficacy. The present study aimed to assess the psychological features of a sample of 28 Italian university students with dyslexia, comparing them with a control group of typically developing students matched for gender, education, and academic discipline, to enhance our knowledge of dyslexia outcomes in an Italian setting. The results show that university students with dyslexia experience higher levels of somatic complaints, social and attentional problems, lower self-esteem, and higher depression scores than controls, while no difference emerged between the two groups’ resilience scores. In conclusion, the present findings suggest that university students with dyslexia report more psychological issues than students without dyslexia and could benefit from intervention to improve their psychological and physical well-being.

Differences in Brain Function and Changes with Intervention in Children with Poor Spelling and Reading Abilities

Previous fMRI studies in English-speaking samples suggested that specific interventions may alter brain function in language-relevant networks in children with reading and spelling difficulties, but this research strongly focused on reading impaired individuals. Only few studies so far investigated characteristics of brain activation associated with poor spelling ability and whether a specific spelling intervention may also be associated with distinct changes in brain activity patterns. We here investigated such effects of a morpheme-based spelling intervention on brain function in 20 children with comparatively poor spelling and reading abilities using repeated fMRI. Relative to 10 matched controls, children with comparatively poor spelling and reading abilities showed increased activation in frontal medial and right hemispheric regions and decreased activation in left occipito-temporal regions prior to the intervention, during processing of a lexical decision task. After five weeks of intervention, spelling and reading comprehension significantly improved in the training group, along with increased activation in the left temporal, parahippocampal and hippocampal regions. Conversely, the waiting group showed increases in right posterior regions. Our findings could indicate an increased left temporal activation associated with the recollection of the new learnt morpheme-based strategy related to successful training.

Differences in integrity of white matter and changes with training in spelling impaired children: a diffusion tensor imaging study

While the functional correlates of spelling impairment have been rarely investigated, to our knowledge no study exists regarding the structural characteristics of spelling impairment and potential changes with interventions. Using diffusion tensor imaging at 3.0 T, we here therefore sought to investigate (a) differences between children with poor spelling abilities (training group and waiting group) and controls, and (b) the effects of a morpheme-based spelling intervention in children with poor spelling abilities on DTI parameters. A baseline comparison of white matter indices revealed significant differences between controls and spelling-impaired children, mainly located in the right hemisphere (superior corona radiata (SCR), posterior limb of internal capsule, superior longitudinal fasciculus). After 5 weeks of training, spelling ability improved in the training group, along with increases in fractional anisotropy and decreases of radial diffusivity in the right hemisphere compared to controls. In addition, significantly higher decreases of mean diffusivity in the right SCR for the spelling-impaired training group compared to the waiting group were observed. Our results suggest that spelling impairment is associated with differences in white-matter integrity in the right hemisphere. We also provide first indications that white matter changes occur during successful training, but this needs to be more specifically addressed in future research.

Dyslexic children show deficits in implicit sequence learning, but not in explicit sequence learning or contextual cueing

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling abilities. The absence of other high level cognitive deficits in the dyslexic population has led some authors to propose that non-strategical processes like implicit learning could be impaired in this population. Most studies have addressed this issue by using sequence learning tasks, but so far the results have not been conclusive. We test this hypothesis by comparing the performance of dyslexic children and good readers in both implicit and explicit versions of the sequence learning task, as well as in another implicit learning task not involving sequential information. The results showed that dyslexic children failed to learn the sequence when they were not informed about its presence (implicit condition). In contrast, they learned without significant differences in relation to the good readers group when they were encouraged to discover the sequence and to use it in order to improve their performance (explicit condition). Moreover, we observed that this implicit learning deficit was not extended to other forms of non-sequential, implicit learning such as contextual cueing. In this case, both groups showed similar implicit learning about the information provided by the visual context. These results help to clarify previous contradictory data, and they are discussed in relation to how the implicit sequence learning deficit could contribute to the understanding of dyslexia.